This morning, I drove out for lunch, drove to buy groceries, and drove myself back. Oftentimes, when I don’t feel like driving, I’d take a Grab or Uber car. You see, I take it for granted that I have a choice to drive or not. Until my colleague (thanks, A) sent me this video by Nissan. But first, a bit of background, in case you have not been following this story
In a move that is designed to boost the local economy, the ultra-conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia is finally changing its laws on female drivers and allowing women to drive in the kingdom, thus ending a long-standing policy that, to say the least, cast a very unflattering light on the country’s treatment of the fairer sex. What most reports have failed to mention though, is just how this small step for mankind could dramatically impact the fortunes of the Arabian economy, and perhaps further afield too.
Oil prices has tumbled by some 65% since it peaked in mid-2014 – a crash of previously unheard-of proportions that is threatening to destabilise a host of petrodollar-dependent economies such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Russia, UAE, Kuwait, Iraq and even little Malaysia. The Malaysian government has just announced that its budget, which is just a few months old, will have to be revisited due to the continued downward pressure on crude oil prices.
